Living, Loving, Laughing, and Occasional Murder (eBook)
360 Seiten
Next Chapter (Verlag)
978-0-00-101032-1 (ISBN)
Eleven short stories focused on regular people in serious trouble, to keep you waiting for resolutions, or to make you smile, laugh, and touch your heart.
'Exit Strategy,' a man witnesses a murder. The perpetrator can't afford loose ends.
'Connecting the Dots,' brings us a couple who have suffered a terrible loss. Is there a way to bring them relief?
'Lives in Search' brings the lives of three people brought together in dangerous circumstances, where survival is in doubt.
'An Ounce of Prevention' features an undercover cop, in danger, and feeling unappreciated.
'Relentless' reminds us that the past is never as distant as we might hope.
'By a Thread,' presents a newly discovered affair, and last chance counseling.
'Redistribution of Wealth' features a man who lives in a dangerous world. Those who push him too far have no idea what is coming.
'Obsessively Yours' is about the love you have been waiting for-until it arrives.
'Evasive Maneuvers,' focuses on a man with a personality disorder that affects his life and happiness.
'Hearts in Reunion,' is about the search for longshot love against the odds.
'Wait for Me' is about love and loss, strength of heart and treasured memories.
The twelfth entry is an inspirational (and amusing) piece entitled 'An Introspective Look at Life on this Planet (Stumbling Towards Grace).' A look at growing up, living, loving, learning, evolving priorities, and our paths forward.
Alone In The Night
Amelia drives away from the house dialing a number that she hasn’t called in several years. On the third ring, it is answered. “Falcon terraces.” Then came a series of beeps.
She responds in a calm voice “Aviary ethos.”
Five minutes later, she gets a call back. “Well, now, there’s a familiar voice. It has been a while.”
“It has.”
“To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“How are you, Stephen.”
“Good. How about you?”
“We need to meet. Now.” She is quiet a moment and then added, “I know that it has been a long time, but I need your help.”
“What’s it about?”
“It’s important.”
There were a few moments of consideration, and then, “Okay. One hour. Old Town Bar.”
“Yes. I remember the place.”
“It will be good to see you again.”
“Yeah. It’s been a very long time.”
Amelia thought about the times they had met at Old Town in the past. The rural bar that provided privacy for discussions and good drinks for celebration. And they had celebrated together a lot. How many times? She thought it had to be more than ten. It’s where they met for any celebration. She checked the time. In forty minutes, she would see him again for the first time in forever. There was a time when they had a mutual crush. There had been the occasional kiss, and she had thought about what it would be like to sleep with him, but that had never happened. And it all seemed like a lifetime ago.
She wondered if he had changed appreciably over the years. She thought that she probably had, and he would be surprised. The last time she had seen him they hadn’t known it would be the last time. Some routines and some relationships you just assume will go on forever, and then life happens, and you go in different directions.
Amelia turns on the radio seeking to calm herself. She sings “You can never go home,” with the Moody Blues. A beautiful song ironically appropriate for the moment. She leaves the city limits and drives on to an offramp that isn’t often in demand. She checked her watch. Twenty minutes until they would meet again.
She drives at the speed limit, assuring that she won’t attract any unwanted attention. The area has retained its rural character. Cows and bulls occupy pastures adjacent to the road. There are periodic orchards dotting the hillsides. There is little ambient light out here, so the stars that filled the night sky seemed closer and brighter.
She makes her way down the main street, which is badly in need of repaving, and observes landmarks in this isolated village: a convenience store, a couple of fast-food places, a gas station, and two bars, one of which was the Old Town. She pulls into the sparsely occupied gravel parking lot and looks around before getting out. There was no one outside, and she had no idea what kind of a car Stephen was driving these days.
The door to the bar opens and a twenty something couple comes out laughing, each carrying a beer. Amelia gets out of the car and locks it behind her. She walks across the parking lot, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She takes a seat at the bar and orders a beer from a friendly bartender with a bald head and a welcoming smile.
Three minutes later, he walked into the bar. He had a few more lines on his face these days. Otherwise, he was the same, good-looking guy. He walked over to her and gave her a hug. Then he smiled widely. “Damn, I’m glad to see you, Lana.” She hadn’t heard that name spoken in a long while. The bartender put a beer in front of Stephen, and he took a long pull.
She returned the smile. “Yeah, I’ve thought about you often over the years. And wondered how you were doing.”
“Well, I’m doing great.”
“Yeah?” Business is good?
“It is. Better than ever.” He grinned at her and added, “You look great. On my way over here, I was wondering if you called me because you wanted back into the business.”
“I’ve been thinking about it. And I could use the money.”
“I was hoping that was your purpose, and I could use the help.”
“Yeah. I’ve kind of missed the rush of it all.”
“You’re still married?”
“Yeah, still.”
“You say it like it’s more burden than benefit.”
She shrugged. “I guess we get what we sign up for, right?”
“Damn. We’re gonna need two more beers here Tommy.”
“You got ‘em.” The beers were placed in front of them almost before he finished asking.
“Cheers,” he offers. “To old friends reunited.” They take a drink and then he says, “There’s lots of work.”
“What are the rates these days?” she asked curiously.
He grins widely. “You won’t believe it.”
“Try me.”
“I’m getting one fifty a pop these days.”
“Holy shit. One fifty?”
“Yeah, and doing about three assignments a month. You do the math.” He watched her eyes-wide reaction. Three a month and I can’t keep up because there is more business waiting. If you were back on board, we could do six or seven.”
She nodded. “Anyone watching you?”
“Nope.”
“No troubles?”
“Nope.”
“What kind of shit do you run into out there? I want to know what I’m walking back into, so give me the reality check. If I get back in, I need to know what kind of shit I can expect.”
“You coming back is the right call.”
“You’re not answering my questions. What kind of challenges are you facing?”
“Almost none. I’ve been picked up, but without witnesses cases don’t stick.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“How often has that happened?”
“I’m careful, so not often.” He reflects a moment and then adds, “I had a problem recently. A guy saw me and maybe he can ID a photo, but even if he can, I’ll get to him and then there’s no evidence, so there’s no case.” He smiles. “In fact, I plan to have that one cleaned up by morning.”
She tries hard not to react to the fact that he just said he was going to kill her husband tonight. Instead, she says, “So, if I say yes, what’s my take on each job?”
“I have the sources to keep us both busy. You get one hundred for every job.”
She smiled. “That could be a living wage.”
“It is Babe.”
“Okay, I’m in.”
He hugs her. “Just like old fucking times.” He looks at his watch. “But I gotta go. Work to do as I mentioned.”
“Fair enough. “I’ll walk out with you.”
“You’ll get me a phone for our private communications?”
“Yeah, within a couple of days you’ll have the phone and your first assignment.”
“Perfect.”
They walk out of the bar and to their cars, which were only a few feet from each other. He was driving a nice-looking Mercedes.
“So good to see you, Stephen.”
“You too, Lana.”
“Nice wheels,” she said, walking over to his car.
He shrugs. “It’s amazing what you can do when money is no object. But this car is a little too much when I’m on a job, so I drive a less conspicuous Toyota when I’m working. This is my weekend car.”
His car chirped as it unlocked when he approached. As he sat down behind the wheel he said, “I’m really excited that you are coming back in. We are going to be an amazing team. Maybe we can get some evenings together.”
She smiled and said, “Yeah, we are going to be a great team.” Then she pulled a Glock from her jacket pocket and fired three times. The silent shots caused the body of the man she knew as Stephen to jolt from the impact.
“Sorry, Stephen. We have a history, but I just couldn’t let you kill my husband tonight. I really had no choice.”
As Stephen Anthony Loggia breathed his last, she pushed him so that he fell across the front seat and his body couldn’t easily be seen by anyone who glanced toward the car.
She walked to the rear door of the bar and knocked. When the bartender with the pleasant smile opened the door, she fired once into his forehead and once into his throat. She says, “I’m really sorry, Tommy, you seemed like a nice guy,” then she turned and walked back to her car. She didn’t want to kill Tommy, but she couldn’t leave witnesses that could put her away for life. This guy saw her up close and could place her right here at the wrong time. He suffered from the same bad timing that got Terry into this mess in the first place.
Amelia climbed into her car and drove away. She wondered why Stephen had been hired to kill the Bartons. What could they possibly have done to put them in the crosshairs of an expensive assassin? She knew nothing about them that would suggest that anybody would want them dead. And what was Stephen looking for in searching their house? She might never know. He certainly wouldn’t be telling anyone.
There would soon be speculation about why the man known as Tony Loggia and a bartender had been murdered. The police knew what...
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 14.8.2025 |
|---|---|
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen |
| ISBN-10 | 0-00-101032-8 / 0001010328 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-00-101032-1 / 9780001010321 |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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